


She-Ra: The Journey to Space

by airbean_saki



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora and her Mop FTW, Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Finale, Unofficial Sequel, catradora, chef catra
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26704036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airbean_saki/pseuds/airbean_saki
Summary: The battle for Etheria is won, and our favourite Etherians are free to pursue other ventures. Oh, the places they will go...
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Netossa/Spinnerella (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. To the Victor Go the Cakes

**Author's Note:**

> This story starts immediately after the show ends - I miss the show and all the characters dearly. This is my attempt to keep it going with more best friend adventures, with new episodes whenever I can get them out. I'd like to try to cover as much of each of the different character's stories as possible :D though of course... Catradora has a special place in my heart, and likely will get the most attention overall. 
> 
> These episodes will mostly be Teen rating - but I'd like to try my hand at some smutty scenes as well, that I will include in a separate series (She-Ra:The Journey to Space - Smut) as they come up in the story so that everyone can read the main story freely. 
> 
> Any feedback is greatly appreciated :) Enjoy!

The air was heavy with magic, so dense in some areas that light refracted and split, producing colourful swirls and waves of light that danced through the sky. Golden particles of energy glowed and shimmered as they floated upwards from the ground. Adora, Catra, Bow and Glimmer stood with their arms still linked, looking up at the lush tree in the sky that was once Horde Prime's flagship. Melog lay curled up on the ground closeby, napping contently.   
  
"Turning Horde Prime's ship into a tree was a nice touch Adora," Catra teased. "It's definitely easier on the eyes. Who knew She-Ra had special plant powers; isn't that supposed to be Perfuma's thing?" Catra ribbed, grinning at Adora.  
"Heh, I don't know… to be honest, I was trying to blow it out of the sky completely but Etheria had other plans I guess," Adora shrugged. "I like it!" she said with giddy pride, standing tall with her arms resting on her hips triumphantly.  
"Uhh, well, I'm glad Etheria took the wheel because otherwise, we might have burning Horde Prime debris raining down on us right now…" Bow said somewhat anxiously, his eyes going slightly wide at the thought.  
  
"That would kinda ruin the moment a little!" Glimmer said, laughing as she wrapped her arm around Bow. "We should give it a name!"  
While the rest of the group pondered what they should name the new giant tree in the sky, Catra was still thinking about She-Ra's new potential ability. With the full magic of Etheria being released, and all of the princess's connections to each other and to She-Ra… could She-Ra somehow harness the other princesses' powers as well? Or was this just a one-time freeing-the-Heart-of-Etheria-and-restoring-the-land kind of thing? The others were too deep in thought to notice that she was staring at Adora curiously.  
"What about… The Great Tree of Etheria!" Bow said, deepening his voice dramatically.  
  
"SKY TREE!" Frosta shouted fiercely, jumping into the group out of nowhere.  
"Oooh, what about Sky Blossom?" Perfuma suggested enthusiastically, walking up to the group with Scorpia at her side and Mermista and Sea Hawk following closely behind them.  
"Heh, I kind of like Sky Blossom. But I was actually thinking… maybe we could call it the Tree of Mara?" Adora said. "I'd like to commemorate her somehow... None of this would have been possible without her and her sacrifice." Adora said sorrowfully.  
  
Without Mara, there would be no fail safe on the Heart of Etheria for Adora to activate to prevent Horde Prime from harnessing it's destructive power. Without Mara, the entire planet may have been obliterated from the uncontrollable power of the weapon centuries ago at the hands of the First Ones, destroying countless other planets in the process. Adora wanted people to know the truth – she didn't betray Etheria or go mad, she saved them twice over. "To Mara! And to everyone else we've lost…" Adora said mournfully. Shadow Weaver, Queen Angella… tears filled Adora's eyes and threatened to spill down her face.  
Catra put her arm around Adora's shoulder and gently kissed her on the cheek, making Adora blush slightly and helping her to regain her composure. The group shared a brief moment of silence that was cut somewhat short by Entrapta's maniacal laugh.

Entrapta appeared suddenly and quickly approached the group, seemingly oblivious to their somber expressions, with Hordak trailing close behind.  
"You guys!! Wrong Hordak found a group of left-over clones and is helping them get over their existential crises… I think I officially have a lab crew that can help me build ships so that we can all go back to SPACE!" Entrapta exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "There's a whole universe to explore and these guys know what they're doing!" Entrapta said, clapping her hands together joyfully.  
"Mmm, yes… we all share the same advanced knowledge of tech, though perhaps not to your level of genius, Entrapta." Hordak said somewhat sheepishly, breaking eye contact with Entrapta briefly, and then looking back up to her, now having taken a seat on the chair she fashioned out of her own hair. "You'd… make an excellent leader for us." Hordak said pridefully, forming a fist with his left hand and bringing it across his chest.  
  
Entrapta blushed a little, before quickly returning to her previous near-hysterical level of excitement. "We can both lead the lab together!" Entrapta paused for a moment, her eyes going wide. "Can we call our lab our _sanctum_?!" She exclaimed.  
Now it was Hordak who was blushing slightly for a brief moment. He had worked in solitude for so long and remembered how different it was working with Entrapta… how much better it was. Now they could have their own lab, together, doing what they want, rather than trying to seek out anyone else's approval. He regained his composure. "Yes, of course." Hordak replied.  
  


"Uhhhh… you don't still want to, you know, rule Etheria or whatever anymore, right?" Mermista asked in her typical uninterested tone, but with a bit more suspicion and doubt than her usual complete indifference.  
Sea Hawk had his arm linked through hers, and looked back and forth between Hordak and Mermista nervously.  
"Horde Prime was a fool," Hordak said, full of vitriol. "And I… I was a fool too." He said, looking abashed. He paused for a moment looking thoughtful, then continued. "I was blind in my quest for power, and for what? To impress Horde Prime?" He angrily spat his name out more than he spoke it. "Now I… I am not sure what my goal is, exactly." He said, uncertainty hanging clearly in his voice. He looked over at Entrapta again, who despite all the distractions around - magic rife in the air, a damaged Horde Prime spire he knew she would love to take apart nearby, and a giant tree in the sky - had her full attention on him. He almost smiled, but maintained composure. "I just know that I have no need to rule Etheria anymore. It is no longer the trophy I sought, it is… my home." Hordak said earnestly.  
  
"Aww, I just want to give you a big hug!" Scorpia boomed, her arms outstretched towards Hordak.  
"Please, do not." Hordak said sternly, stepping backwards away from Scorpia.  
"Yes sir!" Scorpia saluted. "I mean… just yes!" Scorpia said, awkwardly fumbling out of her formal salute. "I respect your personal space."  
"Ohh sure, so you respect _his_ personal space. What about mine?!" Catra whined.  
"Uhh well… we are all learning here right! You just always seemed _so_ in need of a big hug," Scorpia shrugged. "Sorry, if you really hate it, I'll stop." Scorpia said earnestly.  
Catra groaned. "Ughh. It's fine, I think I am… getting used to it." Catra grumbled.  
"Ohh? Is Catra becoming a hugger too?" Scorpia chuckled.  
"Shut up!!" Catra said, immediately regretting saying anything.  
  
Everyone laughed and Adora put her arm around Catra's waist, pulling her close towards herself so that they touched. Catra blushed and looked at Adora. They made eye-contact and Catra's mild embarrassment disappeared – she felt like everything disappeared except for the warmth Adora made her feel and couldn't help but smile meekly.  
"So cute!" Bow whispered so that only Glimmer could hear, his chin perched in both his hands, squishing his face.  
Glimmer grinned and kissed him on the forehead; they smiled at each other and shared a quiet moment.  
"I don't expect to be forgiven… I know I have caused irreparable harm. But I would like to try to make up for it, working alongside Entrapta." Hordak spoke seriously and earnestly.  
  
“He did shoot Horde Prime and then throw him off a platform to fall to his death, which would have saved us all if Horde Prime didn’t just immediately take over Hordak’s body… Though that did anger Horde Prime enough to bring his flagship here, saving us a potentially endless trip through space trying to find him if he tried to flee and cut off his communication lines. So… that should count for some redemption points.” Entrapta said, sounding more like she was thinking out loud and calculating some sort of equation to herself rather than speaking to anyone else.  
  
"Wish _I_ got to throw him off a platform…" Catra mumbled to herself, clenching her fist.  
Glimmer stood and faced Hordak. "You would pledge allegiance to the people of Etheria, to not extort them for your own personal gain but to help and protect them in times of need?" Glimmer spoke with the authority of a true Queen.  
"Yes." Hordak replied sincerely, kneeling before her.  
"Entrapta, you would vouch for him, and take responsibility for him?"  
"Yes!" Entrapta replied, sounding unusually serious.  
"Then rise; Etheria accepts your allegiance Hordak. On the conditions that you help undo the damage that you have done to the land and its people- starting with the Fright Zone. It's going to need some restoring before it is reclaimed by its rightful heiress – Scorpia." Glimmer said with authority.  
"Yes, I understand." Hordak stood. He caught Catra's eye, and they exchanged knowing nods.  
  
Both had made severe mistakes – but there was only one way to go now, and that was forward, this time on a better path – their own. They hadn't exactly been raised to know much better; Hordak being created and brain washed by Horde Prime solely for the purpose of assisting in his cult of mass destruction; Catra being an orphan, raised and trained as a Horde soldier and suffering a fair amount of abuse at the hands of Shadow Weaver. Neither seemed to be at severe risk of causing further damage, and both had potential to help their cause – so Glimmer contented herself that this was the best option, at least until proven otherwise. It stung to think of the consequences of Catra’s previous meltdown… but she did save her life even if it was mostly for Adora, and she had to admit, Catra was starting to grow on her. She also trusted Adora – and seeing the two of them together could melt almost anyone’s heart. Hordak on the other hand, would still need to prove himself to gain more of her trust. Restoring the Fright Zone was just a start.

The group broke off into several smaller conversations for a little while, before lethargy swept over them and a natural quiet arose. The release of magic from the Heart of Etheria definitely helped heal the princesses and restore some energy to the group as a whole – but everyone was still exhausted. It had been a long, stressful battle that was hard fought and hard won.  
"Honestly… I am beat, and I'm sure everyone else is too." Glimmer said tiredly to the group. "We should get back to Brightmoon and have a feast to celebrate freeing Etheria and the rest of the universe! With CAKE!!" Glimmer exclaimed with sudden vigor and excitement. "Then we can all rest; everyone's welcome to stay in Brightmoon until you want to head back to your homes and kingdoms." Glimmer said regally.  
  
"The last time I had cake was princess prom!" Scorpia reminisced. "Man, there was this blue one with sprinkles, I don't know what was in it, but it was taste-y." Scorpia said, practically drooling.  
"Blue-frostberry sprinkle cake!!" Frosta shouted excitedly. "It's my favourite too!"  
"Did somebody say CAKE?!" Swift-Wind burst out of nowhere, barging into the group, followed by Castaspella and King Micah.  
"There you all are! I've been looking for you. I was thinking we should throw a quick party to celebrate our victory before everyone heads back home for some rest! What about an impromptu meal tonight at Brightmoon? The reception hall there should be more than big enough for everyone!" Aunt Casta said, with her well-intentioned, but still somewhat patronizing tone.  
  
"Way ahead of you Aunt Casta!" Glimmer replied, giving her aunt a hug.  
Spinnerella and Netossa walked over to the group as well, holding hands. "One-thousand, four hundred and ninety-seven! We SMASHED our old records!!" Netossa said, bursting with zeal. "And that was just me! Just me out there like BOOM! Nets!"  
Spinnerella smiled and held her hands up graciously in defeat. "You did it babe, you finally beat me. Just barely, though." Spinnerella said with a wink.  
Netossa beamed at her wife, and then pulled her in for a kiss.  
Swift Wind, seemingly not taking notice of the touching moment between Netossa and Spinnerella, trotted around in front of them. "Did anyone say cake though? I thought I heard someone say there was cake!" Swift Wind said, looking around urgently for cake.  
Melog's ears perked up at something in the distance - they meowed at Catra, explaining briefly that they'd make their way back to her later before quickly cloaking theirself and disappearing, mostly unnoticed by the rest of the group. Catra nodded - she didn't really need an explanation - she could sense the thrill of the hunt in Melog.  
  
"Ughhh, okay, I think everyone's here. Can we like… teleport out of here already?" Mermista groaned.  
"On it!" Glimmer said confidently. "Don't worry Swift Wind, there _will_ be cake!"  
She and Micah looked at each other and nodded knowingly, and in synchrony traced a large rune of teleport that spread out over the entire group, fitting everyone within its confines.  
Hordak looked and felt a bit uncomfortable, but Entrapta wrapped some of her hair around his forearm, comforting him.  
Catra put her arm around Adora and pulled her even closer, managing to smirk at her while internally bracing herself for the teleport spell.  
Adora initially smirked back, but then blushed at the sudden realization that she was _finally_ going to bring Catra home. Pretty quickly, her smirk was replaced by a warm smile.  
  
Sea Hawk leapt into Mermista's arms and she groaned, rolling her eyes but smiling at him as he looked at her adoringly.  
Frosta jumped back onto Scorpia's shoulders, thrusting her fists into the air triumphantly and Scorpia chuckled, while Perfuma giggled at the two of them.  
Bow watched Glimmer as she traced the rune, smiling proudly to himself while Swift Wind happily trotted on the spot.  
Just before they all disappeared into pink smoke, Wrong Hordak emerged from the forest.  
"Brothers! I bring more friends!" Wrong Hordak said excitedly, as a group of roughly 15 clones piled behind him, looking pretty disheveled.  
"We'll be back for you Wrong Hordak!" Glimmer said and winked at Wrong Hordak.  
Wrong Hordak winked back just before they all vanished in an instant.

They appeared in the center of a massive room, with towers of chairs stacked along the walls. A huge wooden table with ornate carvings extended almost half-way across the room. The glow of crystals on the walls helped to light the room, though the majority of the light came from a beautiful skylight in the ceiling. A glowing river of water flowed over top of the glass skylight and eventually funneled down platforms on the far side of the room behind the head of the table, pooling down beneath the floor and out of sight. Between the platforms, an illusory thin veil of falling water covered a doorway that led to the kitchen. The calming sound of flowing water filled the room.  
  
Catra trembled slightly from the trip. Adora still had her arm wrapped around her and gently squeezed her reassuringly to help her settle while avoiding drawing too much attention to her – she knew how much she hated being vulnerable in front of other people.  
"It's been awhile since I've seen this room…" Micah said, tracing his fingers along the carvings in the wood. "Looks like it's been awhile since it's been used, too." He noted, looking a bit shocked as he inspected the thick layer of dust stuck to his finger.  
"Yes… I've never even seen this room used before. We had no reason to; before the Princess Alliance was brought back together, there was both little to celebrate and very few people to celebrate with. Now though, I think this room will see lots of action!" Glimmer said, throwing up glittery fireworks with glee before running into Bow and hugging him.  
Mermista glanced at the towers of chairs and noticed they were covered in cobwebs, groaning in disgust quietly to herself.  
Sea Hawk rapidly glanced between the cobwebs on the chairs, Micah inspecting his finger, the mostly chair-less table, and the kitchen behind the waterfalls at the end of the room. A mischievous look spread across his face, and he suddenly began to sing:  
  
 _OOOOOOOH!  
It looks like you could use a solid crew;  
To clean the room and prepare the food!  
_  
He sang and danced flamboyantly, jumping on the table, small clouds of dust puffing out from under his feet.  
  
 _This isn't a sea, but together we can sail right through!  
So tell us Queen Glimmer, what shall we do?  
Tell us Queen Glimmer, what shall we dooooo~  
_  
He ended his shanty with a flourish.  
Scorpia clapped and whistled enthusiastically, while Frosta cheered on her shoulders.  
Mermista groaned and covered her face with one hand while Sea Hawk bowed to his audience. "Ugh, well, at least it was short." Mermista groaned.  
There was a mix of reactions from everyone else, ranging from tired smiles, to somewhat enthusiastic applause. After the applause died down, everyone looked at Glimmer expectantly.  
  
"Right. Okay, this is the plan!" Glimmer said confidently. "We have a few chefs, but they will need help gathering ingredients from the farms and prepping the food so that we can serve the food for everyone quickly; they normally have more time to prepare and I think only Master Chef Padma is here today with half of her usual staff. Dad, after we pick up Wrong Hordak and the clones, you and Aunt Casta can use your magic to make quick work of gathering the ingredients."  
Micah and Castaspella nodded and smiled at each other with the uncanny resemblance of two siblings.  
"This will be fun, just like old times!" Micah beamed.  
"Well, hopefully not too much like old times…" Castaspella replied, concerned.  
  
Glimmer continued. "Netossa and Spinnerella, you can also help gather and collect ingredients and bring them back to the kitchen to help organize them in there. Ask Master Chef Padma what she needs – I'll leave the menu choices up to her, but tell her something quick and easy – everyone's pretty tired."  
"On it!" Netossa and Spinnerella saluted Glimmer, then headed towards the kitchen.  
"Hordak, Entrapta, and Perfuma, you will multi-task between setting the table and making the clones we bring back feel welcome." Glimmer commanded.  
Hordak and Entrapta seemed content with their role, but Perfuma looked a little bit disappointed as they saluted Glimmer.  
"Perfuma… you can also decorate with flowers if you want." Glimmer added, and Perfuma lit up.  
"Yes! Thank you!" Perfuma said happily. The three of them also headed to the kitchen.  
"Catra and Bow – you'll help out in the kitchen as sous chefs, chopping and preparing the ingredients as necessary under Master Chef Padma's direction," Glimmer said.  
  
Catra flexed her hand and drew out her claws. "Oooh… I love cutting things." She said slyly, a menacing grin spreading across her face. "I'll try to be careful around your boyfriend, sparkles. Come on Bow, let's go!" Catra said, bowing to Glimmer who simply rolled her eyes in response.  
Bow gulped and waved at Glimmer as Catra put her arm around his shoulder casually and pulled him along towards the kitchen.  
"Adora – we could use your mop… you and Mermista can quickly tidy up the dust and cobwebs so that the table can be set," Glimmer said.  
Adora held out her arm grandiosely and summoned the Sword of Protection – in mop form. "Leave it to us!" Adora replied with determination, while Mermista groaned and saluted unenthusiastically.  
  
"Scorpia, Frosta, and Sea Hawk, I'll need you to help Mermista and Adora tidy up and set up the chairs." Glimmer said.  
"Yes mam!" Scorpia replied, the three of them saluting in synchrony, Frosta still on Scorpia's shoulders.  
"After getting the clones, I'll find the general to ask her to prepare temporary rooms for Wrong Hordak and the clones, and anyone else who would like to stay the night…" Glimmer trailed off, mostly talking to herself, until she noticed that Swift Wind was still hanging around. "Oh, and Swift Wind! You can help Chef Padma stomp berries for freshly squeezed Stardew fruit juice!"  
"Swift Wind, at your service!" He said, bowing his head before trotting off to the kitchen.

"Alright dad, let's go!" Glimmer ran up to Micah.  
His eyes had wandered to the head of the table – two grand chairs, his and hers – just briefly enough that neither Glimmer nor Castaspella noticed. He looked in her direction quickly after hearing her speaking to him, not wanting her to notice he was looking at Angella's empty chair. He smiled down at her, despite the growing weight of grief in his chest. "Teleport rune, coming right up!" He managed a believably jolly tone.  
"I'll just go quickly check in with Perfuma about the decorations while you're gone." Castaspella said, heading towards the kitchen with a sense of urgency that was a little excessive.  
They traced the rune in synchrony just as they had before moments ago, this time casting a much smaller circle, and within seconds disappeared.  
  


~

  
Catra hid her discomfort well as she and Bow walked through the illusory waterfall- she knew it wasn't real, but that didn't stop her body from automatically clenching up a bit. Her eyes went wide almost immediately after entering the kitchen, and she released her arm from Bow's shoulder absent-mindedly. The place was huge and absolutely gorgeous- white marble walls and counters, counter tops made of an unfamiliar pearlescent white stone, stainless steel appliances – but what caught her eye almost immediately were the collection of knives neatly arranged on the wall directly opposite them behind a long island topped with cutting boards, bowls and other typical food-prep equipment. Each had the same smooth, dark wooden handle that was such a dark red it looked almost black at first glance; but the blades were different shapes and sizes, all Damascus steel. The metal whorled and flowed in patterns she had never seen before on any blade – Damascus steel was only something she had heard about in passing. She couldn’t take her eyes off of them.  
  
"Umm… Catra?" Bow asked, sounding amused.  
"Huh?" Catra uttered, only half present.  
"Master Chef Padma is talking to you…" Bow said, pointing off to the right.  
Underneath a long rangehood stood Master Chef Padma – an intimidating looking 7-foot tall minotaur wearing a white apron and chef's hat. Netossa and Spinnerella were there as well, looking amused. Entrapta, Hordak, Perfuma, and Aunt Casta each held a container of knives, forks, spoons, and decorative vases respectively, and were just leaving to return to the hall. They awkwardly crossed between Catra and Chef Padma on their way out, Entrapta forming a thumbs up to Catra with her hair, Hordak smirking that Catra had already managed to get into trouble with another authority figure, Perfuma smiling and waving, and Aunt Casta in her own world, contrasting different flower pairings for the decorations to herself as they left the kitchen. Master Chef Padma did not look pleased as Catra finally made eye contact with her.  
  


~

  
Adora's determination to mop the room quickly faded. As she stood mop in hand, she realized just how small she and her mop were compared to the gigantic room they were in – it felt like the walls were expanding around her as she eyed the situation.  
"Umm… this could… take awhile..." She said, deflating more with each word. She went from standing tall with her mop, to flopping her mop down and leaning on it for support.  
The others were examining the cobwebs on the chairs, while Mermista stood looking towards the waterfalls behind the head table pensively.  
  
"I think I have an idea…" Mermista said, her eyes sparkling. "Everyone! Come stand over here against the wall behind me!" She motioned for everyone to stand against the wall behind the head of the table, near the waterfall.  
Scorpia, Frosta, Sea Hawk, and Adora all lined up behind Mermista, a smile spreading across her face as she looked back at them.  
"Watch this!" Mermista said excitedly. She drew streams of water from the glowing waterfalls until she had formed a long cylinder of water in the air in front of her that was the same width as the room. Before anyone could say anything, with a swift motion she crashed the water down and a small tidal wave ran across the table, the floor, and splashed through the chairs, collecting all the dust and most of the cobwebs with it. She managed to do all this without knocking anything over, though some chair towers teetered a bit precariously.  
  
Adora, Sea Hawk, Frosta and Scorpia all gasped, just as Entrapta, Hordak and Perfuma entered the hall from the kitchen behind them.  
Before the water could splash against the opposite wall, she forced it upwards, this time into a giant ball of murky water. She collected every drop, leaving the table and floor dry and sparkling clean. She turned back to the group and folded her arms, smirking proudly.  
"Pretty awesome, right?" Mermista said haughtily. She noticed that the area they had been standing on was missed – and drew more water from the waterfalls into Adora's pail. "Here, you can mop just this area now. I'm going to go find a window to pour this out of… I'll try not to hit any unsuspecting people with a tidal wave of dirty water."  
Sea Hawk gaped at her with stars in his eyes and followed her, completely spellbound. "I'll help!" he said, as the two walked towards the hall's exit.  
  
"Great! We can set the table now." Entrapta said nonplussed, as Hordak and Perfuma followed her to the table carrying utensils and began laying them down with Perfuma's guidance as to the proper order.  
"Wow. That WAS awesome. And so efficient!" Scorpia said admiringly. "Good thing Glimmer didn't teleport back with everyone in the middle of that tidal wave… That wouldn't have been pretty." Scorpia said, chuckling as Frosta started to laugh as well, imagining the looks on their faces.  
"Welcome to Brightmoon, SWOOOSH!" Frosta said, motioning intensely. Scorpia and Frosta laughed together.  
"Alright, let's get these chairs out. Mind helping us once you're done, Adora?" Scorpia said, looking over at Adora who looked somewhat silly and inadequate, still holding her mop after Mermista had just single-handedly cleaned the entire hall in seconds with a tidal wave.  
"Yup! I'll just be a minute." Adora said, her look of determination returning now that she had the reasonably achievable goal of cleaning a small section of the hall.  
  


~

  
There was a brief silence, but upon looking at Catra's completely stunned face, Master Chef Padma broke out into a booming laugh that echoed through the entire kitchen.  
"I see you've been spellbound by my knives – they're one of the few things in my kitchen that actually aren't in any way magical in the literal sense. But I can tell that you can appreciate how enchanting they are regardless." Master Chef Padma said, still looking very intimidating despite her warm smile.  
"Uhh yeah." Catra stammered. "I want one… or five?" Catra considered jokingly, regaining her composure.  
"You may want one, but you probably don't need one, Magicat." Master Chef Padma replied.  
"Uhh, what do you mean by that?" Catra asked, unsure if she should be offended or not.  
  
"Come." Master Chef Padma said, motioning for them to join her behind the row of stoves she was standing behind. As Catra and Bow headed towards her, she turned to Netossa and Spinnerella. "You know where to find what I've asked for, right?" She asked.  
"Yes Master Chef! We'll head there now." Netossa replied.  
"While you're out there, tell Swift Wind to keep stomping until I've got five more liters of Stardew juice." Master Chef Padma said.  
"Yes Master Chef!" Spinnerella replied, as she and Netossa left through a door in the kitchen that went directly outside.  
"I've never been in this part of the kitchen before…" Bow said excitedly as they walked with Master Chef Padma towards a room at the far end of the kitchen.  
"Yes, normally the three of you just go straight for the cakes in the fridge and bolt out of here." Master Chef Padma chided looking serious at first, but then cracking a knowing grin.  
Bow blushed and shrugged. "Ehhh… you know how much we love cake Master Chef… and yours are the best!" Bow said appreciatively.  
"Heh, I know." Master Chef Padma said confidently as she opened the door to what appeared to be her office, motioning for Catra and Bow to enter.  
  
It wasn't a large room and its contents were very simple – there was a wooden desk, a chair, some writing tools that were neatly organized on the desk, and a large bookshelf that was stocked full of recipe books. It had all the typical Brightmoon embellishments – hanging crystals, a glowing faux-window, and a small water fall in the corner of the room. And then Catra saw it – a framed poster of a Magicat with her armed folded across her chest, wearing a white chef's hat and apron, standing beside tables of intricate, delicious looking food. It appeared to be signed in the bottom right corner as well in black ink, with a message that Catra couldn't quite read without getting closer to it.  
  
"Who is that?" she asked, feeling weirdly emotional and drawn to this unknown Magicat confidently staring back at her.  
Bow noticed how emotional Catra was getting, and smiled to himself.  
"That," Master Chef Padma replied, "is Master Chef Kit. Possibly the greatest Master Chef to ever walk Etheria. She could fillet and slice a 50lb Etherian Walleye in 5 minutes flat using her claws, her cuts only ever being the highest level of precision that any other Master Chef could only hope to achieve with at least half an hour of careful slicing." Master Chef Padma stated factually – she wasn't the sort to falsely embellish her stories. She looked back at Catra, who looked about as awe-struck as she had before when she just entered the kitchen.  
  
"I meant no offense before – on the contrary… I haven't met very many Magicats in my lifetime. Most I guess are still in hiding. But your natural dexterity with your claws is well known – though of course, Master Chef Kit was on another level." Master Chef Padma said, turning to look back at the poster. "She worked hard to get that level of precision – but also to hone her craft. Her recipes were advanced, the flavours of her food so complex…" She trailed off, and Catra had a feeling she wasn't just reminiscing about the food Master Chef Kit made – they must have known each other.  
"You.. knew her?" Catra asked.  
"Yes… but," she said, turning away from the poster. "That is a story for another time. Right now, I need you both to put on aprons, wash your hands and claws, and start chopping Nahini root, onions, garlic...A couple other things. Let's see what you can do - umm… sorry, I got carried away. What is your name?"  
  
"Catra." Catra replied. She felt a strange happiness start to bubble up inside her – no one had ever expected anything of her growing up. She always felt worthless, easily brushed aside. But now… Master Chef Padma saw potential in her and had positive expectations from her. It felt similar to the warmth that Adora made her feel, but it was different – she couldn't describe how. The feeling was completely new to her.  
"Catra. Nice to meet you. I am Master Chef Padma – please refer to me as Master Chef when we are in the kitchen. Now, let's go!" Master Chef Padma said authoritatively.  
"Yes Master Chef!" Catra and Bow said simultaneously, with respect.  
  
After donning their aprons and sous chef hats, and washing their hands and claws – Catra being mostly okay with hand-washing, but still not a fan of the feeling – Master Chef Padma produced two large bags, one full of onions, the other full of a purple root vegetable.  
"To start, I need the root cubed – 2 inches. The onions diced. Bow, can you demonstrate?" Master Chef Padma asked.  
"Absolutely!" Bow said, a sparkle in his eye. He grabbed two knives off the wall – they were stuck to it with some sort of magic that held them in place – and with one in each hand, started chopping away confidently.  
Master Chef Padma lit a few elements on the stove, and began heating different aromatic liquids in separate pans. She clapped her hands twice, and several other chefs emerged from what appeared to be the staff breakroom. "You know the drill – we will be making Nahini root soup, seasonal harvest puddings, sweet buns and dumplings with smoked meat and cheese. We've got some help for food-prep today - I'll make the sauces." Master Chef Padma said simply, with the confidence of someone who was unquestionably in charge.  
  
"Yes Master Chef!" the crew replied in unison, as they got to work.  
"Ta-da!" Bow said, presenting a pile of purple cubes that were mostly 2 inches in size, with the exception of parts of the root that naturally were just too small.  
"Woah, if you're that good with knives, why do you always use a bow?!" Catra asked, impressed with his skill.  
"Ehh, cooking is different than fighting." Bow said, shrugging.  
"Fair enough. I've… never really cooked before…we just ate ration bars." Catra said as tears of pity formed in Bow's eyes. "Ugh, don't look at me like that!" Catra said, mildly annoyed.  
"Sorry, it's just… so sad…" Bow said mournfully.  
  
Catra ignored him and instead drew her claws and started slicing away at a purple Nahini root. For the first one, her cuts were a bit shabby… they weren't as good as Bow's, but Master Chef Padma nodded indicating they were good enough. After a few, she started to get a feel for it – and soon enough, her cuts rivaled Bow's, except as fast as he was, she was faster. She grinned at Bow, brushing her hands together to rub in his face that she had finished her pile before he did.  
"Ha, you really are great at this! Cooking is actually one of my favourite hobbies…I used to read a lot about it when I lived with my dads. Master Chef Padma let me practice my knife skills here and play around with a few recipes in the past… Maybe it'll be one of your favourite hobbies too?" Bow said as he continued to cube Nahini roots, hoping she would be hooked too so they could geek out over recipes and cooking techniques together. Glimmer loved food – but cooking and food prep… not so much.  
"Master Chef Catra has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?" Catra said in response, only half joking.  
"Onions!" Master Chef Padma cut in sternly noticing that Catra was slacking off, hiding her smile as she turned to grab some spices off the shelf.  
"Eep, yes Master Chef!" Catra trilled; she mouthed "Shut up" to Bow, who was trying to stifle himself from laughing at her getting scolded. She grabbed the bag of onions and started to dice them with her claws, smiling contently.  
  


~

  
It only took Adora a few moments to mop the small area in front of the kitchen – and to sneakily pour the semi-murky small pail of water back into the waterfall where it drained beneath the floor. It was only a little dusty water… a drop in the bucket, as they say.  
Frosta had frozen a pillar of ice beneath herself, lifting herself up to the top of the chair towers so she could reach and pass chairs down to Scorpia.  
Adora transformed into She-Ra and unstacked chairs from the bottom up, lifting all the chairs except the bottom-most one, freeing it from the stack and pulling it out.  
Mermista and Sea Hawk returned a few moments later and started placing the freed chairs around the table.  
Entrapta and Hordak were nearly finished setting the table, while Perfuma and Aunt Casta were putting together flower arrangements along the table in vases. About half the chairs were placed when Glimmer and Micah appeared suddenly with Wrong Hordak and the clones.  
  
"Welcome to Brightmoon!" Glimmer announced to the clones, holding her arms out proudly. She looked to Adora and the others. "Sorry we took so long, Wrong Hordak and the clones wandered off a bit after we left so it took us a little while to find them." Glimmer said.  
"No problem! We're basically done with the chairs; I'm not sure how far along they are with food prep though…" Adora said, glancing towards the kitchen door and wondering to herself what Catra was up to.  
"Oh Micah! Master Chef Padma said that she won't need our help to gather ingredients – she's good with what she has on hand, and with Spinnerella and Netossa helping." Castaspella said.  
  
"Ahh, that's too bad." Micah said, playfully smirking at Castapella.  
Wrong Hordak looked as cheery as ever, his eyes going wide as he admired the skylight. The other clones weren't quite doing as well - one fell to his knees, his face turning green – the others seemed to be varying degrees of stunned and overwhelmed.  
Perfuma noticed their discomfort immediately, and abandoned the vase she had just finished filling with flowers at Castaspella's direction. Castaspella opened her mouth as if to stop her to make a few more adjustments – but resisted her urge to nitpick.  
"Welcome to Brightmoon!" Perfuma said in a calming tone. "My name is Perfuma – what are your names?" Perfuma asked sweetly.  
"They don't have their own names yet… I was granted mine by Bow. Can Bow grant them all names too?" Wrong Hordak said, sounding awestruck by the power of Bow's naming abilities.  
  
"Is Bow our new leader?" One of the clones asked, sounding desperate.  
"No, he isn't." Perfuma said gently. "I am sorry, this must be so strange and so hard for all of you… but you are not alone. Let's sit in a circle over here, maybe we can start by thinking up names for yourselves before getting to know each other. We can help you if you want, but the name you choose should be something that you are happy with yourself!" Perfuma said reassuringly.  
"Yes, I am quite happy with Wrong Hordak. Soon you will all be happy too!" Wrong Hordak said, excited for the other clones to be free and enlightened as he was.  
Entrapta and Hordak joined Perfuma as the clones sat around them in a circle on the floor.  
Perfuma looked around, realizing the group was a bit too big to manage all at once. "Okay actually… there's a lot of you. Let's break into smaller groups." Perfuma said. "Guys, can each of you group up with a small group of clones?" Perfuma asked the group with a pleading expression.  
  
Adora, Scorpia, Frosta, Mermista, Sea Hawk, Castaspella, and Micah all nodded, and soon enough there were several small circles of clones and Etherians, all humbly sitting on the ground.  
"I just have to go find the general! Oh, I should get Swift Wind's chair too. I'll be back!" Glimmer said, using her own powers this time to teleport.  
Conversation slowly built up amongst the groups, starting awkwardly at first, but eventually filling the room. Glimmer returned eventually with Swift Wind's chair and joined one of the groups. Time passed, and some clones were successfully named, until Master Chef Padma's voice boomed through the hall 30 minutes later, startling some of the groups.  
  
"Dinner is served! Please, have a seat."  
Everyone took a seat, sitting beside the people that were in their circle. Adora saved a chair beside her for Catra, and Glimmer took her seat at the head of the table. As soon as everyone was seated, Master Chef Padma clapped her hands twice, and Netossa, Spinnerella, Bow, Catra and a few other kitchen staff emerged from the kitchen in their white uniforms, pushing trolleys that were packed with food. Swift Wind followed, a small cart in tow behind him with jugs of red Stardew juice and stacks of glasses. There were three large pots of pureed purple Nahini root soup, an assortment of smoked meats and fish, puddings, dumplings, cheeses, sweet buns and tangy sauces.  
  
Despite how hungry she was, Adora could not take her eyes off of Catra – she looked so adorable in her uniform. But there was something else - she just looked genuinely happy. She would have expected her to look either somewhat embarrassed wearing an unfamiliar uniform and serving people, or otherwise look like she was trying to appear cool and careless when she was actually somewhat wound up, ready to snap back at anyone who teased her. But she was the complete opposite – she was beaming and looked surprisingly comfortable and confident. Adora couldn't wait to finally get to sit and talk to her - she was curious to ask what had caused such a change in her demeanor, but she knew it would probably be best to wait until they had more privacy before asking.  
The food was placed across the table and everyone with the exception of Master Chef Padma and her other official staff took a seat. "Enjoy." Master Chef Padma said simply but proudly, as she bowed courteously and went back into the kitchen along with her other staff members.  
  
"Thank you Master Chef Padma! Dig in, everyone!" Glimmer said happily.  
Catra expected Adora to tease her the second she sat down beside her – she knew the outfit was easy material. But Adora's smile wasn't a grin – she was looking at her adoringly and smiling warmly as she sat down.  
"Catra! You look awesome!" she said earnestly, kissing Catra on the cheek.  
"Hey Adora." Catra said seductively. "You like a woman in uniform, huh?"  
"Heh, I guess I do." Adora replied with a wink as she piled food onto her plate.

The dinner was lively, to say the least. Glimmer surprised everyone with a live band to play some music while they ate. To make the clone who looked like he was about to be sick after teleporting feel a little less embarrassed about it, Scorpia recounted the tale of the first time she set sail with Catra and how terrible she looked, concluding that he looked a lot better than she did. She had to back track a bit though when the clone expressed with conviction that he wanted to be named "Queasy" – she managed to convince him that Quentin was a better name. Talk of the sea led to Glimmer and Sea Hawk reminiscing about burning their first ship together and crashing it into Catra's, and the stories just kept flowing from there (stories at Catra's expense was somewhat of a theme that night – which she mostly got a kick out of). The once empty and quiet reception hall echoed with the sounds of laughter as stories of all their adventures together were told. Cake was brought out, much to Glimmer and Swift Wind's delight in particular, and seemingly too soon, the evening came to its end.  
  
"Thank you all so much, for everything." Glimmer said, tears of joy in her eyes.  
Everyone clapped and cheered.  
"Rooms have been prepared for everyone – I will have the guards show each of you to yours. They are waiting at the exit, whenever you are ready." Glimmer said courteously.  
Despite being very much ready for bed, everyone hesitated at first to leave their seats. No one really wanted the evening to end – after tonight, many of them would be going their separate ways, back to their own kingdoms.  
Mermista was the first to stand. "Ughhh, this was a fun time, and I'm actually not over it… but I need to sleep. We can talk more in the morning before I head back to Salineas. Goodnight everyone!" She linked arms with Sea Hawk, and they headed toward the exit.  
"See you in the morning!" Sea Hawk said, saluting.  
The initial inertia having been broken, the rest of the group began to stand and stretch and say their goodnights as well.  
  


~

  
Bow, Glimmer, Adora and Catra walked down the halls of Brightmoon together to their rooms, since they were in the same wing. They reached Glimmer's room first, stopping outside of it.  
"Heh, you know what I just realized Catra?" Glimmer said, giggling to herself.  
"What?" Catra said curiously, with a hint of concern in her voice – sparkles giggling like this usually meant something embarrassing would follow.  
"We both kind of got our wish, from our 'perfect day' when we were talking on Horde Prime's ship." She said, finger quoting. "I got to have cake, and now you get to have a sleepover with Adora!" She said, giggling again.  
Catra turned beet red and groaned. "Ughh that is NOT what I said!"  
Adora blushed a little too and laughed alongside Bow and Glimmer.  
  
"Whatever Horde scum. Have a good night, see you in the morning!" Glimmer hugged them both and Bow joined in.  
"Best-friends-squad-goodnight-hug!" Bow said happily.  
Catra was stiff at first, her embarrassment still lingering, but she quickly relaxed and hugged them back. After they left, Catra and Adora continued down the hall. Adora took Catra's hand in hers and they walked the rest of the way holding hands, both blushing slightly. It wasn't long before they stopped in front of Adora's door.  
"So… this one's your room?" Catra asked, somewhat nervously.  
"Well, it was." Adora said and paused for a moment. She looked at Catra, who now had a confused look on her face. "It's ours now." She said affectionately, smiling warmly at Catra.  
Catra blushed for a moment before a wide grin spread across her face. She pressed her body into Adora's, pinning her against the door and kissed her. After kissing her for a few moments, she wrapped her arms around her and rested her head against her chest, starting to purr softly.  
  
"You know... Glimmer mentioning sleepovers kind of reminded me of something." Adora said as she embraced Catra. "Remember how we used to stay up some nights, whispering to each other about all the things we wanted to do when we grew up?" Adora asked.  
"Of course I remember… Why?" Catra replied curiously, still pressing against Adora.  
"Well… I always wanted to have a room with just you. No other cadets, no Kyle…heh. Just us. I was so nervous to tell you at the time, but when I told you and you agreed so casually… I was just, so happy and so relieved that you felt the same way, even though I think it was assumed for a variety of different reasons by both of us that it was just as friends… and maybe partly to get away from people that annoyed us. And now… here we are, heh. I can't believe we are actually here right now, about to go into our own room together. There's so much I want to say to you, so much I want to do…" Adora said emotionally.  
"Well, if you let me into our room already, you can tell me all about it. Or better yet, maybe you can show me?" Catra said with a smirk, releasing Adora from her embrace.  
"I would love to." Adora said, smiling warmly. She opened the door to their room, dramatically bowing and gesturing for Catra to enter. "M'lady." Adora said gallantly.  
"Heh, you idiot." Catra teased. As she walked past Adora into their room she grabbed her hand and pulled her inside; Adora shut the door behind them.


	2. No Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The defeat of Horde Prime has left the rebellion more powerful than ever - but with great power, also comes great responsibility.  
> With each kingdom facing its own challenges, the rebellion will have to divide to conquer - but some shadows of their own still linger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloooo! Sorry this took forever. The stress level in my life has honestly been OVER 9000 for the past little while (and I'm sure many of you can relate... it's been a year)  
> I also got a little bit distracted making she-ra AMV's ... lol. This one's my personal fav if you want to check them out: https://youtu.be/eCkSxudUsCs 
> 
> but back to the fic! I really do have a lot of ideas and places I'd like to take this story - and I WILL! slowly, lol, but surely.  
> (as a teaser - at some point, reaaally want to do a magma diver (neon genesis) homage - already have the ideas in mind but gotta advance the story a bit to get there first lol)  
> thanks a lot for reading and as always, would love any comments or constructive criticism you may have! 
> 
> enjoy! :)

* * *

_I can see the light behind your eyes  
Even in the summer shade outside  
When every single day  
Will never feel the same  
A single minute can't be wasted_   
_  
No Goodbyes – The Subways  
  
_

* * *

  
  
The halls of Brightmoon were silent and still as Micah somberly made the familiar walk to the royal chambers, the same walk he had made almost every evening with Angella.  
It was not a tranquil silence, not to him – the emptiness around him and inside him was a dizzying, shrill vibration that reverberated through his hollowed body, filling him with dread.  
  
Before he had been distracted, kept busy by the ongoing battle, kept afloat by the eagerness of seeing his daughter after years of being apart – but now that he was alone, tracing through the steps of a previous life with his love now forever lost, the grief had gutted him, carving out his soul and replacing it with a dark void reminiscent of the feeling of being chipped by Horde Prime.  
He could almost hear her voice echoing off the walls, could almost smell her sweet perfume – if he could just snap out of it, he'd come to his senses and see that this was all just a bad dream, a vivid nightmare that had so convincingly ensnared him in its grip.  
But he couldn’t – no matter how much he pleaded and begged his mind to release him from this torment, still here he was, stuck in this uncanny reality without her.  
  
He continued walking instead, feeling heavy, until he reached the doors that led to their room, and hesitated for a moment before opening them.  
The window was open, a warm breeze billowing through the curtains. He left them open always – the few nights they didn't walk to their room together, she would fly through them and join him in bed.  
He looked at them longingly for a moment, before forcing himself to turn away and collapsing in bed.  
He reached over to her side of the bed, letting his arm fall.  
"Angella… How can this be…? How can you be gone?"

~  
  


Adora was startled awake by a knock at the door, gasping as she leaned up in bed – Catra awoke as well from the noise, but only opened her eyes briefly before closing them again, smiling at what a high-strung dork Adora was.  
"Uh, who is it?" Adora asked, sounding a bit dazed and confused. She squinted at the warm beams of morning light shining through the window and shielded her eyes with the back of her hand; they hadn't gotten around to closing the curtains last night.  
  
"It's Juliet – Queen Glimmer requests your presence at breakfast in 45 minutes, along with the rest of the rebellion leaders to discuss plans moving forward and to say farewell to those returning to their kingdoms." General Juliet said formally, her voice muffled through the door.  
"Oh. Right, thank you general! We'll be there." Adora said, sounding more herself. As Juliet's footsteps faded down the hall, she snuggled against Catra, shivering a little as she went from the cold air back to the soft warmth underneath the covers. Catra started to purr softly as Adora wrapped her arm around her.  
  
“Wakey-wakey, Catra,” Adora quietly teased, knowing she was already awake. “You heard the general, we should probably start getting ready for the meeting,” she said, sounding more serious. Glimmer would be _pissed_ if they were late.  
 _Classic responsible Adora_ , Catra thought to herself, not moving a muscle.  
“Mmm, what do you mean we?” Catra lazily replied. “I’m _pretty_ comfy right now.”  
She smirked to herself; she did want to go – she liked criticizing the princess’ plans, especially Sparkles. But it was fun making things difficult for Adora.  
  
“Catra…” Adora whined. “Come on!” Adora snatched the blanket with her as she rolled out of bed.  
Catra stretched out and yawned, seemingly unphased by the sudden disappearance of the warm blanket, before returning to the same position on her side and closing her eyes.  
“Good thing I’ve got my fur to keep me warm,” she said, smirking again.  
“Ughhh.” Adora groaned, frantically looking around the room while she tried to think of a way to get Catra out of bed. It didn’t take her long to notice something that would definitely do the trick.  
  
“Catra, if you don’t get up in five minutes, I’m gonna pick you up and throw you into this waterfall.” She said as she motioned towards the waterfall, with a tone that dared Catra to test her.  
 _Crap… The waterfall. Why are there bloody waterfalls in all the rooms in Brightmoon_?! Catra thought to herself begrudgingly, suddenly becoming aware of the faint sound of trickling water.  
Adora was definitely stronger than her now; but she wasn’t faster. Still… dodging Adora and having her chase her around the room took energy – she decided she’d let Adora win without a fight - this time.   
“Oooh, so ruthless Adora – unfair advantages are usually my thing.” Catra teased sarcastically, sapping some of the glory from Adora’s successful scare tactic. “Looks like I’m starting to rub off on you.”  
  
Adora sighed, shaking her head. “You are the _worst_. But… I still love you.” She said, smiling.  
Catra rolled over so that she was facing Adora, propping her chin up on her hand.  
“Heh. Love you too. Now come on, get back in here – you agreed, we’ve got five more minutes.” Catra said, patting the bed beside her.  
Adora grinned as she climbed back into bed, gently pulling the blanket over Catra and herself before wrapping her arms around Catra and snuggling up to her.  
  
"So… you looked pretty chummy yesterday wearing your chef outfit." Adora said curiously, nudging Catra gently with her shoulder. "What did you and Bow get up to in the kitchen?" She asked, shifting slightly away from Catra so that she could make eye contact with her.  
"Heh. Yeah, Master Chef Padma just had us chop up some vegetables in different sizes and shapes.” Catra said nonchalantly, gently brushing a stray hair on Adora’s cheek behind her ear. Adora smiled and blushed happily in response.  
  
“You know, Bow would actually be terrifying with a blade if he wasn't a complete softie otherwise." Catra said, only half-joking.  
“Really eh? Huh. I’ve never been in the kitchen with him when he’s actually cooking something before… normally we just run in there for snacks and cake and run out.” Adora said, her stomach growling a little at the thought.  
Catra giggled knowingly. One thing that definitely never changed about Adora over the years was her insatiable appetite. “Yeah, Master Chef Padma mentioned that.” She said, smirking.  
  
Catra paused for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly as she mulled over her thoughts.  
“Master Chef Padma… she was tough with me, but she believed in me?" Catra said with slight disbelief. She broke eye contact with Adora, feeling suddenly emotional and a bit embarrassed by it.  
"It's kind of dumb, that just chopping some stupid vegetables could make me feel so happy. It felt… it's hard to describe." Catra said, pausing again, taking a moment to think some more.  
  
Adora waited patiently for her to continue, watching Catra intently. She reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.  
"Basically, she made me feel the opposite of how Shadow Weaver made me feel. Shadow Weaver always made me feel like I was nothing, and no matter what I did, I'd always be nothing. But Master Chef Padma saw potential in me… she said I could be an amazing chef if I worked at it. Felt nice to be believed in for a change I guess." Catra said, shrugging.  
"Wow… that's great!" Adora said earnestly, hugging Catra tightly for a moment.  
"Shadow Weaver never could acknowledge how great you are… I never really understood it, it seemed pretty obvious to me." Adora said frankly as she released Catra from her hug and rested her hand on Catra's cheek softly.  
  
"Oh please Adora." Catra said, rolling her eyes but blushing too a little. Adora smiled and was about to ask for more details about her cooking ventures, but Catra's expression darkened suddenly.  
"I… still don't understand Shadow Weaver. She said she was proud of me before she…" Catra trailed off and grimaced, trying her best to choke back sobs as tears filled her eyes.  
Adora pulled her in close to her chest and gently stroked her back, feeling her own skin cool slightly from Catra's tears. So many nights she had cautiously comforted Catra after Shadow Weaver hurt her in the Horde – but there was always some level of restraint and secrecy. She could never hold her and comfort her freely like this.  
  
"Shadow Weaver really messed with us… I don't fully understand her either." Adora said, trying to temper the frustration in her voice.  
"She was always so manipulative, so power-hungry – even though she just used us most of the time, sometimes it felt like somewhere, deep down she did really want good things for both of us… her sacrifice makes me believe that just a _little_ bit more, but overall… I just don't know." Adora said, her voice sounding strained.  
She wanted to believe it was true – but Shadow Weaver was always so calculating. It was impossible to know if she was being genuine, or if she was simply playing the world around her like it were a game of chess, every move part of some contingency plan to benefit herself in some way.  
  
"If she had survived, would that side of her beat out her lust for power and her need to manipulate us for it? Would she finally… love us?" Adora said, speaking softly as tears quietly fell down her cheeks.  
“I just don’t know. I wonder if I mostly just _want_ to believe that somewhere deep down she cared.” Adora said, releasing Catra so she could gently wipe away the tears on Catra's cheeks before wiping away her own.  
"Yeah… She knew I wanted her approval _so_ badly. She tortured me with it; it's _so_ like her to give it to me just before she'd be gone forever, before she could own up to how much she hurt us… Heh. If she ever finally would." Catra said scornfully, cracking a small grin despite how upset she was. She cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "I guess we will always have mixed feelings when it comes to her."  
  
"Heh, probably." Adora said, chuckling briefly.  
"Anyway..." Catra said, clearing her throat again. "I think I'd like to learn how to cook with Master Chef Padma; there's actually a lot of skill involved." Catra said a little boastfully, gently drawing her claws out and admiring them with a sly smirk.  
"Well I'm definitely happy to eat everything you make!" Adora said, as her stomach growled once again -she was looking forward to breakfast. "It'd be good to have a chef on board with us too when we do go to space; the buns Glimmer made with Wrong Hordak were pretty good, but I bet you could do better." Adora said playfully.  
"You're really buttering me up this morning, huh?" Catra said, resting her hand on Adora's face and smiling at her.  
Adora simply smiled back wordlessly and kissed her. "Get used to it."  
  


~  
  


The sound of Entrapta tinkering with electrical equipment echoed softly through the empty reception hall as Glimmer waited nearby, her arms crossed. A large white projector screen stood tall and wide behind the head of the table, shielding the door to the kitchen and parts of the waterfall from view with its giant white panel.  
"Is it working yet?" Glimmer said, trying her best not to sound impatient – people would be arriving soon, and she was starting to get a bit anxious.  
  
"Just finished installing the multimedia interface… I should be able to plug Bow's scanner into it now, in theory." Entrapta said, as several different strands of her hair completed multiple tasks. One rotated a screwdriver, re-attaching the panel that enclosed the projector's inner compartment, one held a tiny muffin that she took a small bite out of, one reached for her laptop, while another plugged it in to the projector. A few clicks of her keyboard later, and a cartoony image of herself projected across the table onto the screen, flashing a peace sign and winking.  
  
"Update to repair log six-hundred and fifty-two – fifty-three? Eh. Display modifications were successful! The projector should be compatible with Bow's scanner now and the display is working again." Entrapta declared triumphantly into her recorder.  
"The refractive properties of Brightmoon crystals are fascinating… further experimentation is needed to determine their suitability for laser beam amplification." Entrapta continued, closely examining a small crystal shard.  
"Uhh, I don't need to worry about the projector shooting anyone with lasers… right?" Glimmer asked, trying to hide the concern in her voice.  
  
"Oh no, that's impossible with this design! I'd need to direct current through the crystal to create lasers; I'm just using them to refract light in the projector." Entrapta responded factually.  
"Right…" Glimmer said, pretending she understood. "Thank you! Everything else is ready too?"  
"Yup! We are good to go!" Entrapta replied contently, finishing the rest of her muffin.  
Bow emerged from the kitchen, holding a small platter filled with an assortment of miniature pastries and muffins.  
“Wooo! Way to go Entrapta! I’ll upload the maps from my scanner.” Bow said, walking towards the projector.  
“Perfect timing.” Entrapta said happily, rubbing her hands together gleefully at the sight of more tiny food. She scooped up the platter and proceeded to pick up several tiny pastries with different strands of her hair, sampling each with small bites while her mind wandered, thinking about lasers and maps.  
  


~  
  


Five minutes of cuddling quickly became 25 minutes, forcing Catra and Adora to rush out of their room to make it on time. As they raced each other down the hallway towards the reception hall, Melog appeared suddenly, nudging Catra's knee first, then Adora's.  
"Melog! There you are; where did you go?" Adora asked as she pet their head.  
Melog meowed their strange, distorted sounding meows and Catra interpreted for Adora.  
"They went for a hunt… sounds like they had quite a feast themself the other night." Catra said, scratching underneath their chin.  
"Nicely done, Melog." Catra said proudly as Melog nuzzled against her hand, purring quietly.  
  
They continued down the hall holding hands until they arrived at the reception hall- last it seemed. The others were already making conversation as they ate. Glimmer was standing near the head of the table, the projector screen behind her displaying a map of Etheria. Sat closest to her were Bow, Entrapta and Hordak, fully immersed in a conversation about lasers and their potential uses. Opposite them sat Micah and Aunt Castaspella alongside Mermista and Sea Hawk – Micah appeared to be mostly focused on his food as Aunt Castaspella was talking about her trip back to Mystacor, while Sea Hawk was intently listening to a story Mermista was telling about a dream she had the other night. Scorpia and Frosta were making casual conversation with Netossa and Spinnerella as Swift Wind paced around behind them. Actually, Perfuma hadn't arrived yet.   
  
"I was beginning to think the two of you might not make it." Glimmer said loudly, smirking at Catra and Adora.  
Both Adora and Catra blushed slightly as they each scrambled to think of a witty comeback or anything really to brush off the sudden attention that was on them – everyone in the room was looking at the two of them now, thanks to Glimmer. They were all smiling – except for Mermista.  
"Well, everything that happened yesterday kinda took its toll, ya know." Adora managed to get out, shrugging. "I was a little slow moving this morning," she said, sounding earnest.  
Adora wasn't the best actress usually… but taking the heat for her and Catra’s antics was something she had a fair amount of experience doing – it felt pretty natural to her by now.  
  
"Yup – it was all Adora's fault. I was ready to go but she slowed us down, right Melog?" Catra said casually, flashing a grin at Adora as she pet Melog. Melog meowed in support, playing along.  
"Uh-huh. Well, grab some food and a seat so we can get started!" Glimmer said, still smirking.  
Immediately after Adora and Catra grabbed healthy helpings of food and sat down, Glimmer nodded at Bow. "Ready?" she asked.  
"Yup! Ready when you are!" Bow replied, giving Glimmer a thumbs up.  
"Perfect. Good morning everyone!" Glimmer raised her voice so it filled the room, grabbing everyone's attention. "Horde Prime's defeat was a huge victory for the rebellion – Etheria is basically ours again!" she boomed enthusiastically.  
Cheers roared through the reception hall in response. After everyone settled, Glimmer continued.  
"That said… Etheria still needs our help before we can free other planets from what remains of Horde Prime's legion. While I'm sure they've been rattled by the loss of Horde Prime, there is a good chance many of them will likely try to continue following in Horde Prime's footsteps." Glimmer paused for a moment, taking a breath before continuing.

"The good news is, reports from across the kingdoms indicate that the damage from the land splitting open from Horde Prime's attempt to rupture the planet is mostly localized to uninhabited areas of the Whispering Woods below Mystacor." Glimmer motioned towards the screen, as Bow updated the map. Red outlines spread like fractured glass from a forested area on the map where they had witnessed the land splitting with their own eyes the other day.  
"However, we received a report earlier this morning that Plumeria was hit pretty hard…" Glimmer said, concern overturning her formal tone. "The Heart Blossom has been damaged and the village is in shambles. Perfuma left this morning to see to her people and to assess the damage. She will report back as soon as she can to update us on the situation."  
  
A heavy silence filled the room.  
 _So that's where Perfuma is…_ Catra thought to herself.  
She felt a strange pang of relief at first – for once, she wasn't the direct source of destruction, so she didn't need to push down the guilt that normally crept through her whenever she had done something a hushed part of her knew was wrong. But the relief was quickly overshadowed by a deep pain – suddenly she was attuned to the energy of everyone in the room, the sadness that hung over them all and the somber looks on their faces. In the past she typically pushed her feelings for others out with anger or distracted herself by focusing purely on the end goal she was viciously fighting for – but she realized something had changed.  
  
For the past little while, she hadn't been blinded and consumed by her fury, and it left room for her to completely take in the emotions of the others around her. She was struck with the reminder that this was the pain she had inflicted on others the whole time she was commanding the Horde. She clenched her fists as her face twisted, disgust diffusing through her like a noxious spill – she had hurt so many people with reckless abandon, not just her friends, not just the person she loved more than anything. She was even worse than Shadow Weaver.   
  
"Maybe She-Ra can help repair the damage?" Adora offered, seeking a way to help fix things.  
"Yes – you, Swift Wind, Catra and Melog can head to Plumeria with more supplies to assist with the refugees and to see what can be done about the Heart Blossom and the village." Glimmer said.  
"Sounds like a plan! She-Ra made a giant tree in the sky from nothing – I'm sure she can help fix the Heart Blossom. We'll have that village built back better than ever!" Adora said confidently, brightening the mood in the room considerably.  
"Swift Wind at your service!" Swift Wind boomed, trotting on the spot.  
  
Adora looked over to Catra, expecting to be humbled with a friendly jab, but she just sat there stiffly, her fists clenched on her lap beneath the table.  
"Understood." Catra said rigidly, nodding at Glimmer before quickly casting her eyes down.  
Glimmer nodded back, unsure what to make of Catra's dark expression. She decided it was best to just continue for now.  
Bow updated the map, placing cartoony icons of Adora, Catra, Swift Wind and Melog alongside Perfuma’s icon in Plumeria.  
  
Adora reached for Catra's hand beneath the table. She knew from the look on Catra's face it could be risky to try to comfort her right now – but she took the chance and gently rested her hand on top of Catra's. Catra slowly unclenched her fist in response to her touch, interlacing her fingers with Adora's; but she kept her head down and avoided eye contact. Adora was relieved that she didn't pull away, but seeing Catra looking so tense and sullen made her heart ache – she wanted to just get up and take her back to their room and talk to her about whatever was wrong. Whatever it was, it would have to wait just a little longer.  
  
“Unfortunately, Bow's dads’ home was damaged as well from the fissures… he will be going back there to check on them and potentially help them move here temporarily if the damage is bad enough.” Glimmer turned to face Bow with a sympathetic look on her face.  
“They are welcome to stay as long as they would like to, Bow." Glimmer said, placing her hand on Bow's arm.  
Bow nodded with a smile, holding her hand and squeezing it gently. "Thanks Glimmer. On the bright side… if it's bad, I may be able to convince them to move here permanently by reminding them of Brightmoon's vast collection of books and scrolls. George would never visit because of the war and Lance supported him. But now that the war's over… Brightmoon may get two new historians!" Bow said, suddenly becoming excited. "Uh, that is, after they manage to get all their stuff here… They would never leave it behind."  
  
"The librarians here would be thrilled to help them sort their collection; there's lots of space for expansion still!" Glimmer said happily. She imagined George and Lance hanging out with her dad – they'd make quite the trio. "Let us know once you find out what they want to do and we can help you with the move!”  
“Will do!” Bow said happily. He updated the map again, placing his own icon where his dads’ house was in the Whispering Woods as Glimmer turned her attention back to the rest of the group.  
"Mermista will need to return to Salineas with Sea Hawk – even though the kingdom wasn't damaged too much from the land fractures, they are still struggling to recover from the Horde's occupation before." Glimmer said, motioning towards Salineas on the map. Everyone’s eyes were on Glimmer and the map of Etheria as Bow updated it when new positions were assigned, so Catra’s slight wince at the mention of Salineas went unnoticed - except by Adora.  
  
"Frosta will also need to return to the Kingdom of Snows – we've received reports that earthquakes were triggered in the region that have caused damage, though thankfully the damage isn't critical. I can teleport you both where you need to go after breakfast." Glimmer said.  
"Thanks Glimmer; hopefully it won't take me too long to repair the damage so I can help out with whatever else needs to be done." Frosta said.  
Mermista and Sea Hawk nodded in solidarity. "Yeah. Keep us updated with the situation in Plumeria – if it's really bad, we can come help." Mermista said, as Seahawk saluted beside her.  
"Hopefully that won't be necessary… but will do.” Glimmer said gratefully.  
  
"I can extend the range on our tracker pads so we can all keep in touch easily!" Entrapted chimed in excitedly. “Should be a quick fix.”  
“Yes, that’s a great idea.” Glimmer smiled for a moment and was about to continue before Scorpia shyly interjected.  
"Umm… Sorry to interrupt." Scorpia said apologetically, shifting a bit nervously in her chair. "I know we talked about me going to the Fright Zone with Entrapta and Hordak last night to start restoring things there but… would it be alright if I went to Plumeria first? I'd like to check up on Perfuma." Scorpia said, sounding concerned. She tapped her claws together anxiously.  
"Yes, of course! I'm sure Perfuma will really appreciate you being there Scorpia. Entrapta and Hordak can start drafting up some plans to show you when you join them later in the Fright Zone." Glimmer said.  
  
"Thank you Queen Glimmer!" Scorpia said graciously, bowing in her seat. She turned to face Entrapta and Hordak.  
"Can you two uh… maybe start by looking into designing an _underground_ sewer system?" Scorpia gently suggested with a hopeful expression.  
"Ughh, _please_." Mermista pleaded, scrunching up her nose at the memory of their stench.  
"Having the majority of the sewer pipes above ground was efficient to build but … admittedly, not the most pleasant…" Hordak said somewhat sheepishly, shrugging.  
"I have _so many ideas_!" Entrapta exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly.   
"I'll bet you do!" Scorpia said excitedly as she slammed one of her claws on the table in support of Entrapta, a little harder than she intended. "Oops. Hah…hah." Scorpia laughed nervously, brushing away small woodchips from the dent she just made in the table. "I'm looking forward to hearing them." Scorpia finished warmly.  
  
"Okay awesome! So that's settled – Hordak and Entrapta will head to the Fright Zone to start planning the restoration efforts and you'll meet them there later." Glimmer said, ignoring the damage to the table. "Continuing on, Aunt Castapella will be returning to Mystacor, to –"  
"Yes! I will be discussing our next steps and how we can be of assistance with the restoration efforts with the rest of the Council." Aunt Castaspella said excitedly, cutting Glimmer off. "It is high time we left the safety of our walls and made advances outside of them." Aunt Castaspella declared proudly.  
  
"Thank you Aunt Castaspella." Glimmer said, nodding. "I look forward to building stronger relations with the Council; I think we will accomplish great things together." Glimmer said, casting a small rune spell in the palm of her hand for a moment and then waving it away with a proud smile. She made eye contact with Micah and he smiled, giving her a thumbs up.  
"Yes! I agree." Aunt Castapella said. "Micah, what is your plan? Do you want to come with me to Mystacor to speak to the council?"  
"I would like to," Micah said, looking over to Glimmer. "But there are a few things I'd like to discuss with Glimmer first."  
"We haven’t really had the chance to talk about… well, anything really.” Glimmer said.  
  
There was so much she wanted to talk to him about – from stories of his time as a student in Mystacor, to his trials and tribulations on Beast Island and everything in between. She had so many of her own stories to share too – but there was one thing they both knew they needed to talk about more than anything else; Queen Angella. Glimmer quickly brushed the thought away, focusing herself instead on the tasks at hand.  
“I was thinking about it and… I would like to appoint you as my closest advisor – the Hand of the Queen. Together we can work to advance diplomacy amongst the other kingdoms and eventually, other planets." Glimmer said regally. “What do you think?” Glimmer asked.  
  
“I would be honoured,” Micah said, bowing his head. “Consider it done.”  
“Great! We can have our first meeting after I return the princesses to their kingdoms. It may actually be a good idea for us both to meet the Mystacor council with you, Aunt Castaspella.” Glimmer said, turning back towards Aunt Castaspella.  
“I agree.” Micah concurred, nodding.  
“Sounds like a plan!” Aunt Castaspella said, cheerfully clapping her hands together. “Just come grab me from the gardens when you’re ready.”  
  
“Will do. Okay, on to the last order of business… now that the Horde is gone, we can start to re-open trade routes with the nearby villages that were too dangerous for travel before. But before we can do that, we’ll need to clear the fallen trees and debris blocking the paths. Spinnerella and Netossa, would you two be able to lead a task force to take care of this?”  
“On it!” Netossa said enthusiastically.  
Spinnerella smiled and put her arm around Netossa’s shoulder. “Compared to everything we’ve been through… this will be a breeze.” Spinnerella quipped.  
“Heh, nice one.” Netossa said with a smirk, nudging her with her elbow.  
  
“Oooh, I was planning to hack some of Horde Prime’s drones to develop better maps for our scanners to help me find more First One’s tech. This would be a perfect test application for them!” Entrapta said excitedly. “I’ll let you know once I have a couple finished, they can help you map out the trade routes that are blocked quickly.” Entrapta said.  
“That would be great actually – we know the woods really well close to Brightmoon but uh, less well elsewhere…” Netossa said, exchanging a shrug with Spinnerella.  
  
“Alright then! I think that’s everything for now…” Glimmer said, sounding relieved.  
“Ahhm… actually, just one more thing,” Entrapta said, turning towards Adora. “Can I take Darla?” Entrapta begged. “There’s a couple things I need to pick up and it’d be the easiest way to bring all the clones with me.”  
“Oh uh… sure?” Adora said, not sounding very sure.  
“Great, thanks!” Entrapta said quickly, before Adora could change her mind. "I'll take good care of her," she said adoringly, staring off into space as her mind raced, thinking about all the experiments she was about to start.  
“Anything else?” Glimmer asked the room. Everyone shook their heads in response. “Alright, meeting adjourned! Feel free to hang out for a little while.” Glimmer said, taking a seat beside Bow.  
  
The group split off into several small conversations as people resumed finishing their breakfast.  
Adora turned to face Catra, squeezing her hand gently beneath the table. "Hey… you ok? Wanna go for a walk with me?" Adora asked quietly so only Catra could hear her.  
"Uh… yeah. Let's do that," Catra said, ignoring Adora's first question. "But first I need to talk to Mermista," she said tensely, looking at Adora with shame in her eyes for a moment before glancing across the table where Mermista was sitting a few seats to the left of Adora.  
  
She and Mermista hadn't really crossed paths much yesterday. Even when they were sat at the same table, the victory over Horde Prime was fresh, and the main thing most people were thinking about were happy memories that befit the cheery mood of the evening.  
But now, the celebrations were over and it was back to business – back to the responsibilities of leadership and the consequences of hers as second in command of the Horde.  
She wasn't sure what exactly she was going to say – apologizing seemed like such a woefully inadequate response for the damage she had done to Mermista's home and her people. Maybe nothing she could ever say or do would be enough – but she figured the least she could do was acknowledge what she had done and try to make amends. That was more than what Shadow Weaver had ever done for her – at least that was one way she could try to separate herself from her.  
  
“Hey… you’re being really brave,” Adora said, tracing her fingers along the lines in Catra’s palm to help her relax. “Do you want me to come with you or would you rather I stay here?” Adora asked.  
“Uhh… up to you.” Catra replied, sounding distracted. She was trying to plan out how she should approach Mermista and what she should say - her eyes wandered back over to where Mermista was sitting, but this time Mermista made eye contact with her. She stood and started to walk towards them with her arm linked around Sea Hawk's.  
" _Fuck_ …ok, here we go…" Catra muttered to herself nervously under her breath, tightening her grip on Adora's hand. Mermista's expression was hard to read – she wasn't smiling, but she didn't look angry either. At least not yet, Catra thought to herself.  
  
Mermista walked up beside them and locked eyes with Adora.  
"So wait… are you and Catra like, an official thing now?" Mermista asked, sounding slightly judgmental.  
“Oh um, yup!” Adora said proudly, blushing a little.  
"Oh. Wow – I missed a lot when I was chipped. Is it like, date a villain week or something?" Mermista said sarcastically as she looked Catra up and down, seemingly unimpressed by what she saw. Entrapta and Hordak were completely oblivious to her remark, but the rest of the group made the connection.  
  
Catra felt Adora's hand tense on hers - she knew she'd have to calm Adora down quickly before she went into full blown overprotective-Adora-mode and things got ugly.  
"Adora… it's okay. I got this, okay?" Catra said to Adora softly. Adora sighed and nodded, her eyes never leaving Mermista's.  
"Hey um… I get it – I know sorry probably isn't nearly enough but… I am really sorry about what happened to Salineas.” Catra said earnestly. “I can't take it back but… if there's anything I can do to help fix things in Salineas –"  
"Uh, yeah, maybe there is." Mermista said, turning to face Entrapta. "Hey Entrapta, maybe you can build a time machine so new Catra can go back in time and punch old Catra in the face before she leads the Horde to destroy my kingdom?" Mermista said sarcastically. She was mostly joking – but her tone was still a little biting.  
  
"I already punched Catra in the face!" Frosta shouted triumphantly. "Except… I punched new Catra, not old Catra. It was still pretty satisfying though." Frosta said, forming ice fists and crunching them together.  
"Niiiice." Mermista said as she turned to smirk at Frosta briefly before turning back to look at Catra and noticing that she looked utterly defeated – she wasn't sassing her back like Mermista had expected she would. Meanwhile… Entrapta was deep in thought, seriously considering the possibility of a time machine; Adora’s face was progressively getting redder and redder with bottled up anger, and the rest of the group looked various degrees of uncomfortable. This wasn’t going well.  
  
"Entrapta, I was just kidding, don’t worry about it,” Mermista said, before sighing frustratedly and turning to Catra.  
“Look… I'm not gonna lie, I'm still kinda not over what happened to Salineas. But… I forgive you, alright? Thanks for owning up to it. You can come by sometime and I'll think of a way you can help make up for it." Mermista said.  
"Yeah… I probably would be mad too if I were you. Thanks for uh… giving me a second chance." Catra said sheepishly.  
"Yeah… Well, if Adora sees something good in you then I guess I kind of have to at least try to." Mermista said, shrugging before folding her arms across her chest and looking off to the side.  
  
“Ugh.” Adora groaned. “Okay, I know what happened to Salineas was awful, and that Catra _was_ our enemy, but she’s on our side now and there _is_ good in her. A lot of it, actually. In fact, Catra's _actually_ the reason we’re all standing here right now.” Adora said somewhat passive aggressively. Catra asked her not to say anything but… she couldn't help herself. She did manage stay quiet while Catra apologized – but now Mermista brought her into this, so it was fair game. At least that’s what she reasoned to herself in the moment. If people didn’t want to forgive Catra – fine; that was fair. But she wasn’t going to sit around and listen to people drag Catra back down into believing that she didn’t have _any_ good in her.  
  
“Uh, what?” Mermista said.  
"Adora…" Catra quietly pleaded – she didn't really want to share what happened in the Heart of Etheria with everyone, but she knew there was probably no stopping Adora now. Maybe she wouldn't go into details?  
“Yeah. We never really told you guys but… long story short, in the heart of Etheria, one of the First One’s guardians attacked us and infected me with some kind of virus that I think was slowly killing me." Adora said.  
“What??” everyone in the room simultaneously said in shock while Catra covered her face in embarrassment, knowing what was coming next.  
  
“Yeah… I know. I couldn't transform into She-Ra and Horde Prime got into my head and… I gave up. I thought I failed and that we lost… but Catra…" Adora paused for a moment and put her arm around Catra, who's face was visibly red despite her hand covering most of it.  
"Catra didn't give up on me. She told me not to give up and she uh… she told me that she loved me, that she always had and um… we kissed. Heh." Adora laughed shyly and blushed a little while Catra groaned quietly.  
"And then bam! I was She-Ra and you basically know the rest. I guess everyone thinks that She-Ra saved the world but technically… Catra did. I couldn't have done it without her." Adora finished, kissing Catra's forehead and flashing a beaming smile to everyone in the room.  
  
"Oh man, so what you’re saying is… your love saved the universe?" Scorpia asked giddily.  
"Erm… yeah, I guess so." Adora said, blushing. “But also that Catra saved all of us – and she sacrificed herself before too to save Glimmer, which you probably didn’t know about either because you were chipped Mermista.”  
"Man, I _have_ to tell Perfuma this – wait, you and Catra should tell the story to her when we see her! She's gonna swoooon!" Scorpia said excitedly.  
"That's…alright, that's pretty epic." Mermista said, not really wanting to admit it.  
"It deserves a shanty! I'll think one up and sing it for you when you come for drinks sometime in Salineas!" Seahawk exclaimed.  
"I just… can't. I'm crying." Bow said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Your love saved the universe! That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."  
“Gross…” Frosta said, scrunching up her face in disgust.  
"Who knew that Horde scum had it in her." Glimmer said with a playful smile. Catra finally removed her hand from her face in response to Glimmer’s jest, rolling her eyes and grinning at her. Glimmer's sass was a welcome comfort for Catra amidst all the fluffy emotions flying around the room currently.  
  
"Yeah heh. She's pretty amazing." Adora said, blushing.  
"Adora… please." Catra whined, pushing Adora's shoulder playfully and turning even redder.  
"Ughh god, okay. Glimmer, teleport me outta here before I vomit." Mermista joked to Glimmer with a smile before turning to face Catra again.  
"Well... Thanks Catra, _and_ She-Ra, for saving the universe, which I guess _technically_ includes Salineas in it." Mermista extended her hand out to Catra. "I'm still gonna call you out on your offer though." Mermista finished with a smirk as they shook hands briefly.  
"Heh. Fine by me." Catra replied, flashing a toothy grin back.  
"You all know where to find me if you need me. We should definitely hang out sometime soon though just to relax once things get a little less busy." Mermista said to the rest of the group.  
"Sounds good, Sea-Ra!" Adora replied back with a smirk. Mermista rolled her eyes playfully in response as Glimmer linked arms with her and Sea Hawk.  
  
“I’ll get Glimmer to deliver your tracker pads later! Bye everyone!” Entrapta said, rushing out the door excitedly and dragging Hordak with her.  
The group exchanged glances with each other and shrugged.  
“I’ll see you when you get back Glimmer. I’ll be in the courtyard. Safe travels everyone!” Micah said, waving with Aunt Castaspella as they left the reception hall.  
“See ya later!” Seak Hawk said happily. He and Mermista waved goodbye to the group with their free hands before disappearing in a puff of sparkly pink smoke. Glimmer returned shortly afterwards to teleport Frosta back to the Kingdom of Snows while the rest of the group began to say their goodbyes and slowly split off to pack for their respective journeys until only Catra, Adora, and Bow remained, waiting for Glimmer to return.  
  
“Well, looks like it might be a little while before we can go to space again.” Bow said.  
“Maybe for us… but who knows about Entrapta.” Catra said, laughing raspily as she rested her head on Adora’s shoulder and let herself relax a little. “She might be preparing to take off to space right after she finishes those tracker pads for all we know.” Catra said.  
“She _was_ pretty vague about where she was taking the clones…” Adora said, slowly becoming more suspicious.   
"Well… let's hope she doesn't. Glimmer will _flip out_ if she goes to space with Hordak instead of working on restoring the Fright Zone." Bow said, chuckling a little.  
"Heh, now I kind of want to see this happen." Catra said, smirking. "She's got a real temper for a sparkly pink princess – she's like a cupcake with teeth."  
"Heh, yup, that's Glimmer." Bow said, smiling a knowing smile.  
  
The three of them laughed as Glimmer suddenly re-appeared in the reception hall.  
“What’s so funny?” Glimmer asked, brushing snow off her shoulders.  
After wiping away tears of laughter, Adora was the first to respond. “We were just joking around about Entrapta taking Darla to space –"  
"And I was thinking I should have nicknamed you Sprinkles instead of Sparkles." Catra said before starting to laugh all over again.  
"What the fu- how are those conversations even related?" Glimmer asked, not waiting for an answer.  
"I leave for five minutes…" she grumbled to herself, rolling her eyes. "Catra, I draw the line at Sparkles – if you call me Sprinkles I swear to god I will teleport you above the ocean and drop you in it."  
"Ahhh! Save me She-Ra!" Catra cried out dramatically, letting herself fall helplessly onto Adora's lap. "There's a new threat in the universe – Sprinkles the Sadistic!"  
"Oh my _god_ – and I thought _I_ was a drama queen." Glimmer said sarcastically, laughing with everyone else as she wrapped her arm around Bow's waist.   
  
After recovering a little from laughing until her sides hurt, Adora's brain went right back to business.  
"Entrapta probably won’t take Darla to space though… right?” Adora said.  
“Eh, probably. Even if she does, she’d probably make it back in one piece at least.” Catra said.  
“She won’t come back in one piece if she takes Hordak to space instead of working on the Fright Zone – we had a deal!" Glimmer said, her sassiness bordering on being genuinely pissed off.  
Catra casually brought her hand to her face to stifle another laugh – Glimmer was almost raging about something that hadn't even happened yet.  
"Let's all have a little more faith… she said she was going to work on the Fright Zone with Hordak and she seemed pretty excited about it." Bow said calmly, gently stroking Glimmer's back. "I'm sure when we check in on her every now and then, she'll be there tinkering away on things with him." Bow said.  
"Yeah… you're right." Adora said.  
  
They each paused for moment as a silence fell between them, hesitating to say their goodbyes.   
"Well, I guess me and Catra should go start to pack for Plumeria… Best friends hug before we all hit the road?" Adora said, breaking the silence.  
"Woo! Best-friends-goodbye-hug!" Bow cheered, as the four of them wrapped their arms around each other in a tight hug.  
"I prefer best-friends-see-you-later-hug," Glimmer said, squeezing the others extra tightly for a moment.  
"BFS-YLH!" Adora exclaimed as their hug ended, to looks of confusion from both Glimmer and Bow.  
"Oh god… please don't try to make BFS-YLH happen Adora." Catra groaned, thinking about all the other terrible acronyms Adora had come up with over the years when they were together in the Horde. Secretly though, she loved them and remembered most of them – her favourite being IFL-SCH, or "I feel like shit, come here," which was their code for late night cuddles when everyone else was sleeping. They never actually spelt it out though; they pronounced it "iffles-khh!" just because whispering "iffles-khh" in the middle of the night often cheered them up already just by how ridiculous it sounded.  
"It could be bifsy-leh!" Adora said laughing.  
"I don't know what's going on, and I don't think I want to know." Glimmer said, laughing as the four of them started to walk towards the room's exit. The sounds of their laughter echoing through the reception hall slowly receded as they left the room, going their separate ways.  
  


~  
  


Glimmer's breath escaped her lips as she walked through the archways leading to the courtyard. Even on a regular day, the courtyard was gorgeous – ornately patterned walkways divided lush planters, bursting with flowers and ornamental shrubs. Vines wrapped around speckled white and pink marble pillars and the wooden trellises that lined the edge of the courtyard, adding splashes of colour with their multicolored flowers. And beyond the trellises, the view was spectacular – the Whispering Woods spread out as far as the eye could see, interrupted only in some places by small patches of farmland or where it was carved out by the curving Rhea River. But with the release of magic from the heart of Etheria, the beauty of the courtyard became nearly rapturous. An ethereal glow pulsed through every living thing, brightening every colour and highlighting elegant details in the flowers and leaves and stems Glimmer had never seen before.  
  
"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" Micah said, startling Glimmer. "Woops haha, sorry! I thought you noticed me standing here," he said, laughing. He stood next to an abstract looking fountain formed of merged spheres and hemispheres, waving at Glimmer. Glimmer smiled and ran up to him, wrapping her arms around him and letting herself relax in the safety of her father's arms.  
"Hi dad," she said happily, squishing her face into his chest. "It's unbelievable." She paused for a moment, absorbing the sweet smell of flower nectar in the air, the relaxing sounds of the fountain, the peace and warmth she felt hugging her father and hearing his laughter – and carefully filed the memory of this moment away safely.  
  
She released Micah and stood tall in front of him. "As beautiful as it is, the released magic is also _so_ powerful," Glimmer continued, holding her arms out to her sides, drawing the power of the Moonstone into them and forming two bright spheres of light. "I think I could cut through steel now if I wanted to." She said, smiling confidently.  
"I bet you could. You're getting pretty good at rune casting too! You traced that last teleport spell with precision and ease. I'm impressed, but I'm not surprised – you are _my_ daughter, afterall." Micah said proudly, puffing out his chest.  
"Heh, yeah! I'll need more practice though for sure." She said, pausing for a brief moment as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Could you train me?!" She asked excitedly.  
  
"I would love to." Micah said, smiling as tears slowly formed in the corner of his eyes.  
"Dad? Are you okay?"  
"Yes. I'm just… so proud of you." He put his hand on her shoulder, and smiled wistfully.  
"You will be such a great Queen… just like your mother." He cracked as he mentioned Queen Angella, tears streaming down his face as he closed his eyes, letting out quiet sobs.  
"Dad…" Glimmer reached out to him and they hugged each other tightly as the pain Glimmer worked so hard to push down overwhelmed her again. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks as she began to cry into Micah's chest.  
"I'm sorry Glimmer, I just… I've been able to keep myself distracted but now that things have settled, and I'm here… it's just all crashing down on me." His eyes wandered across the courtyard – her favourite flowers, her favourite colour, her favourite sculpture in Brightmoon – anywhere he looked, he found pieces of her.  
"I haven't had the chance to fully process her death… Everything makes me think of her, and I don't even know what happened to her. I know there was never a good time to talk about it but… I just need to know what happened…how it's possible that she can be gone…" He said, his words hanging heavily with grief and disbelief.  
"Yes, of course," Glimmer said, wiping the tears from her eyes and clearing her throat. "I'll explain everything."  
  


~  
  


“All aboaaard!” Entrapta boomed as she hung upside down just past the entrance of the ship, her hair holding her in place. Hordak stood closest to the platform leading up to the ship with the rest of the clones crowded around behind him, each holding a box of supplies.  
“Ah… so this is the spacesh- I mean, this is Darla.” Hordak said, correcting himself as he walked up the ramp into the ship, the clones following in an orderly line behind him. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” He said, reaching out and grazing his fingers along the First One's markings on the walls. Entrapta flipped over and set herself right-side up again.  
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Entrapta said affectionately, hugging the hydraulic lift for the entry platform.  
“Yes she is.” Hordak said, admiring the ship's interior before turning to face Entrapta. “I’m looking forward to seeing the modifications you’ve mentioned.” He said, meeting her gaze and smiling ever so slightly. Here he was, leaving to build a new lab with Entrapta, a new life - he had never felt so happy and light in his entire existence.  
  
And yet… still he felt a fearful claw reach out from inside him, holding his tongue, forcing him to dampen his feelings and trying to pull him back down to where he was most familiar – devoid of "weak" emotions, the only acceptable expression being anger because it elicited fear in others and that was how you maintained control.  
Anger, power, control, perfection – to be accepted, to be safe, to be worthy.  
Entrapta changed everything – she accepted him so effortlessly and demanded nothing of him – well, besides that he share details of his experiment with her so that she could help him with it. Her free spirit leapt over his walls and pulled him outside them, showing him a world where imperfection wasn't just acceptable – it was beautiful, and he didn't need to contort himself to fit someone else's bullshit ideal mold to be happy.  
He wanted to free himself from the binds that kept him from expressing his emotions – but happiness was foreign and fleeting to him, and so he reflexively kept himself guarded with the familiar: serious expressions and a poised demeanor. Thankfully… Entrapta didn't seem to mind.  
  
"You're going to LOVE the robotic arm I installed. No one else has seen it yet – there was no reason to use it. Until _now_!" Entrapta said, laughing maniacally. "TO THE CONTROL ROOM!" She said, grabbing Hordak's hand gently and pulling him with her as she ran through the ship.  
They flew through the hallways and sliding doors, only slowing down when they entered the control room.  
"Hi Darla! I'm back!" Entrapta exclaimed excitedly. "This is Hordak!" she said, motioning towards Hordak with strands of her hair.  
"And these are… well, I'll go through all the introductions in a moment." Entrapta said, glancing at the clones that were slowly milling into the control room behind them.  
"Hello Entrapta and Hordak. Hello others." Darla said.  
"Uh, hello Darla." Hordak said, feeling a bit awkward speaking to a spaceship.  
  
"Okay so… I know we're supposed to go to the Fright Zone. And we will!" Entrapta declared, thrusting her first into the air with a determined look on her face. "But I made a promise to someone else first so… we're just going to make a quick detour." She said mischievously, winking at Hordak.  
"Entrapta…" Hordak eyed Entrapta nervously. Sometimes her free spirit could be a little bit too free. "I… don't want to anger the princesses. I don't want to lose y-" he stopped himself from finishing the word. "I don't want to lose my opportunity to make amends," he finished weakly.   
"Don’t worry Hordak, they said we could pick stuff up first so we technically aren't breaking any rules! Plus it'll make the demolition part of the restoration process SO much easier – and fun!" Entrapta said, her enthusiasm completely unhindered. "We can plan things for the Fright Zone and tinker with Horde Prime's drones on the way there." She motioned towards a box one of the clones had placed on the floor that appeared to be full of busted drones she had collected from the battlefield.  
"Well… that's true." Hordak said, slowly starting to come around to the idea. "Alright then. Where are we going?"  
Entrapta cheered and hugged Hordak, making him blush profusely. She tore away from him excitedly and turned to face the control panel in the front of the room.  
"Darla, set a course for Beast Island – we're going to get Wanda!"  
  



End file.
